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Global charity merges with TRBC

April 8, 2009 : University Advancement staff

Liberty University has long supported Gleaning for the World, a charity that provides surplus medical and essential supplies to humanitarian projects worldwide. Now, that support will go even farther as Thomas Road Baptist Church recently announced a merger with the organization, allowing it to collectively target the millions of people around the world who are suffering from poverty, hunger, sickness and natural disasters.

The Rev. Ron Davidson, founder of Gleaning for the World, speaks at a Liberty University convocation on April 4, 2008.

The Rev. Ron Davidson, GFTW president and chief operating officer, was the pastor of a mega church before he founded Gleaning for the World in 1998. The nonprofit organization, headquartered in Concord, Va., has since distributed 1,692 truckloads of life-saving supplies, worth nearly $400 million, within 57 nations. For two consecutive years Forbes.com has recognized GFTW as the nation’s top charity in terms of fundraising efficiency and charitable commitment.

Jonathan Falwell, vice chancellor of spiritual affairs at Liberty and senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, said, “I am excited about the opportunity for our church to get involved in providing assistance to many hurting people, as well as having new opportunities for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them.”

Liberty students have done volunteer work with Gleaning for the World through Liberty’s Christian/Community Service Department and through TRBC. They have done everything from loading trucks with supplies for hurricane victims to donating money to help send medical supplies to children’s AIDS clinics in Africa.

Davidson addressed students at a convocation last year, where he explained Gleaning for the World’s mission and expressed excitement for Liberty’s faithful support.

“I’ve been watching Jonathan [Falwell], I’ve been watching Jerry Falwell, Jr., and I’ve been watching your church and your campus, and I have seen the moving of the Holy Spirit in a way that I have never seen God touch souls,” he told students last April. “I’ve got news for you: God’s not through with what He’s doing with this place. He is not through with reaching Central Virginia and your heart. God is going to use Liberty University to reach all over the world, all over Africa and win new souls for Christ.”